In the United States Senate election held in the State of New York on November 7, 2000, Hillary Rodham Clinton, then First Lady of the United States and the first First Lady to run for political office, defeated U.S. Representative Rick Lazio. The general election coincided with the U.S. presidential election. The race began in November 1998 when four-term incumbent Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement, making this was the first open Senate seat since the 1958 Senate election. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party sought high-profile candidates to compete for the open seat. By early 1999 Clinton and Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani were the likely respective nominees. Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton, purchased a house in Chappaqua, New York, in September 1999; she thereby became eligible for the election, although she faced accusations of carpetbagging since she had never resided in the state before. The lead in statewide polls swung from Clinton to Giuliani and back to Clinton as the campaigns featured both successful strategies and mistakes as well as dealing with current events. In late April and May 2000, Giuliani's medical, romantic, marital, and political lives all collided in a tumultuous four-week period, culminating in his withdrawal from the race on May 19. The Republicans chose lesser-known U.S. Representative Rick Lazio to replace him. The election included a record $90 million in campaign expenditures between Clinton, Lazio, and Giuliani and national visibility. Clinton showed strength in normally Republican upstate areas and a debate blunder by Lazio solidified Clinton's previously shaky support among women. Clinton won the election in November 2000 with 55 percent of the vote to Lazio's 43 percent, and became the first woman elected to the Senate from New York. Background When four-term Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement in November 1998, his previously safe U.S. Senate seat became open in the 2000 U.S. Senate elections. Both parties tried to find high-profile candidates to run for it. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was prevented by term limits from running for mayoral reelection in 2001, immediately indicated interest. Due to his high profile and visibility, Giuliani was supported by the New York State Republican Party, even though he had irritated many by endorsing incumbent Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo over Republican George Pataki in 1994. Giuliani became the presumptive Republican nominee, and by April 1999 had formed a